Closure for cold-storage compartments



B. J. CLARK ET AL July 1 1924 CLOSURE FOR COLD STORAGE COMPARTMENTS Filed Dec. 7, 1923 Patented July l, 1924.

BENJAMIN J'. CLARK AND JOHN HUHN, OF BALTIMORE, MARYLAND, ASSIGNOBS TO AMERICAN ICE COMPANY, OF BALTIMORE, MARYLAND, A CORPORATION OF NEW JERSEY.

CLOSURE FOR COLD-STORAGE COMPARTMENTS.

Application filed December 7, 1923. Serial No. 679,162.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that We, BENJAMIN J. CLARK and JOHN HUHN, citizens of the United States, residing at Baltimore, Sta-teof Maryland, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Closures for Cold-Storage Compartments, of which the following is a description, reference being had to the ac companying drawing and to the figures of reference marked thereon.

The invention relates .to new and useful improvements in closures for cold storage compartments, and more particularly to a closure which includes swinging doors WlllCll are yieldingly held in closed position.

d An object. of the invention is to prov de a closure structure wherein a moving article to be stored in the compartment is directed against the ,doorsso as to open the doors for the passage of the article 1nto the compartment.

A further object of the invention is to provide a closure of the above character with means. carried by the doors against which the article makes impact, which means is of a yielding character so, as to ease the blow of the moving article and reduce the frlctlon incident to the article passing through the doorway.

A further object of the invention 1s to provide a closure of the above character wherein the doors are automatically closed after the article has passed and which is so constructed that first one door closes and then the other, thus permitting the use of a strip carried by one door which overlies the other when the doors are closed.

; These and other objects will in part be obviousl and will in part be hereinafter more fully disclosed.

In the drawings which show by way of.

illustration one embodiment of the invention v f Figure 1 is a front-view of the closure taken from a point outside of the compartment;

Fig. 2 is a similar view of the closure from the inside of the compartment; and I Fig. 3 is a sectional view transversely through the door frame intermediate the ends thereof.

The invention is embodied in a closure fora cold storage compartment, and the purpose of the invention is to provide a escape of cold air from the compartment,

and at the same time, provide,a' closure which may be readily opened to admit of the article to be stored entering through the closure into the compartment and the automatic closing of the closur after the article has passed through into the compartment. i

In carrying out the invention, we have provided a compartment with a doorway which may be in general, of the usual construction, and in the doorway are hinged two doors which are adapted to swing into the compartment. Yielding means is. provided for closing the doors and normally holding the same closed. One of the doors is provided with a member which overlaps th other so as to prevent the escape of cold air through any opening between the meeting edges of the doors, and this member also operates to insure that one door shall close before the other so that they will be brought into proper closing position. The invention also contemplates a door closure wherein the door is opened by the moving article which is to be stored in the compartment.

The invention is particularly adapted for use in connection wit-h a cold storage compartment in which cakes of ice are placed. The cake of ice moving down the runway or the like, passes through the doorway coming in contact with the doors, opens the doors, enters the compartment, after which the doors are closed through the yielding means associated with the doors. In order to insure that the cake of ice or the moving article to be stored in the compartment will properly make contact with the doors and pass through the opening formed when the doors are opened, we have provided guides which are mounted on the doorway frame and constructed so as to direct the article against the doors at the central portion thereof. We have also provided yielding devices on the doors with which the article makes contact, which will, in a measure, take up the impact and also permit the article to pass through the doorway with little friction against the doors, which, of course, are yieldingly pressed towardclosed position.

Referring more in detail to the drawing, we have shown the invention as applied to a cold storage compartment having a door way frame 1 preferably made of angle irons which are-secured together in the usual way, and also secured to the walls of the compartment. Along the sides of the doorway and across the top thereof, are square rods 2. The doorway is closed by two doors 3 and 4. These doors are hinged by suitable spring hinges which operate to normally close the doors. These hinges each preferably comprises a strap 5 bent at its lnner end to form eyes adapted to register with an eye carried by the other member 6 of the strap hinge which is bolted to the doorway by suitable bolts 7. A pintle 8 passes through the eyes of the strap hinge. Suitable springs 9 are coiled so as to encircle the ends of the pintle and cotter pins 10 prevent the spring from coming off from the pintle. The ends of these springs bear against the members 5 and 6 ofthe hinges and normally tend to swing the door to closed position. The hinge member 5 1s secured to the door by means of bolts 11, 11. It will be understood that the hinges are all of similar construction, and while we have described in detail one form of hinge, it will be'understood that any other form of hinge may be used which is suitable for supporting the doors so that they Wlll swing toopen and to closed position.

tween the edges, we have provided one of said doorswith a strip 12 which is bolted to the door and is so related to the doors as to overlap the edge of the adjacent door, so that when the doors are closed, this strip, with the doors, form in effect, a rabbet joint.

As has been noted above, the closure is particularly adapted for a compartment in which cakes of ice are to be placed, wherein the cakes of ice approach the doorway under movement from some propelling force,

and it is desired that the cake of ice shall open the-doors and pass into the compartment so that the doors shall be open for a minimum length of time, and furthermore,

so that the entrance of the article into the compartment is brought about automatically through the action of the article itself.

In orderto direct the cake of ice properly against the doors for opening the same, we

have provided at each side of the doorway, guides 14. As clearly shown in Fig. 1, there are four of these guides, one pair of which is located adjacent the bottom of the doorway, while the others are higher up.

It will be understood, of course, that any suitable number of guides may be employed. These guides are formed of comparatively narrow strips of metal. Each guide preferably consists of a base portion 15 and an outwardly projecting portion 16 bent at right angles thereto, and the guides are secured to the door frame by means of bolts 17 The end of the proj ecting portion is connected to the base portion 15 by a curved member 18. These curved members 18 extend from a point outside of the doorway to a point within the limits of the doorway. The cake of ice or other article under motion, will be received between these guides, and through the curvature thereof will be caused to pass into the doorway near the center thereof, so that the article is in proper position to open the doors and to pass on into the compartment. Also mounted on each door are cushion members 19. These are preferably formed of springs which are bent back upon themselves at 20, and secured to the door adjacent the central portion thereof, and are also secured at their outer ends by bolts 21. These form bowed springs which are capable of yielding, and serve to receive the impact of the moving article as it strikes against the doors. They also serve the purpose of guiding the article through the open doorway and thus prevent undue friction of the side edges of the doors on the moving article. In other words, they act in a sense as runners, and easily pass over the cake of ice without retarding its movement to any great extent. After the cake of ice has passed through the doorway, it will be noted that the projecting member 12 carried by the door 3 will engage an article and thus cause the door to remain in open position until after the other door 4 has been released and swung by its hinges to closed position.

As a further means for sealing the doorway to prevent the escape of cold air when the doors are closed, we have provided a rubber strip 22 for each door, which is attached thereto by a metal plate 23. This rubber strip projecting below the lower edge of the door makes a tight joint.

It is obvious that minor changes in the details of construction and the arrangement of the parts may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention as set forth in the appended claims.

Having thus described the invention, what we claim as new and desire to secure by Letters-Patent, is-

1. A closure for a cold storage compartment including a doorway frame, doors for closing said doorway hinged to said frame so that said doors may swing into the compartment, yielding means for normally hold ing the doors closed, guides secured to the door frame and projecting inwardly into the doorway, said guides being curved outwardly from said position to a position considerably beyond the doorway whereby moving articles may be directed into the doorway and against the doors for opening the same.

2. A closure for a cold storage compartment including a doorway frame, doors for closing said doorway hinged to said frame so that said doors may swing into the compartment, yielding means for normally holding the doors closed, guides secured to the door frame and projecting inwardly into the doorway, said guides being curved 0utwardly from said position to a position considerably beyond the doorway whereby moving articles may be directed into the doorway and against the doors for opening the same, yielding means carried by each door to receive the impact of the article, said yielding means being constructed so as to have a limited frictional engagement with the article passing through the doorway.

3. A closure for a cold storage compartment including a doorway frame, doors closing said doorway, hinges for supporting said doors so that they may swing into the compartment, yielding means for normally holding the doors closed, spaced narrow guides adjacent the upper and lower portions of the doorway for directing a moving article against the doors so that the doors may be swung by the article to allow the article to pass into the compartment, said guides be ing curved so as to project from a point within the limits of the doorway to a point well outside of the limits of the doorway, and yielding means carried by each door to receive the impact of the article, said yielding means being relatively narrow so as to have a limited frictional contact with the 1 article passing through the doorway.

In testimony whereof we atfix our signatures.

BENJAMIN J. CLARK. JOHN HUHN. 

